So, how good was Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw Wednesday night as he no-hit the Rockies? Check out this stat from the Elias Sports Bureau: Kershaw is the first player ever in the history of Major League Baseball with 15 strikeouts without allowing either a hit or walk.

Also, according to Elias, of Kershaw’s career-high 15 strikeouts, 14 came on breaking balls. The 14 strikeouts on breaking balls are the most in a single start since pitch types were first started being tracked in 2009.

You can check out the reaction of Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki in the above video.

Tyler Matzek’s first pitch in the major leagues was a 96 mph fastball to Jason Heyward. And he wasn’t shy about it. Matzek tried to pitch with a reliever’s mindset, he said — never leave anything on the table.

He went on to give the Rockies their best pitching game of the season Wednesday against Atlanta, in an 8-2 victory.

“Part of my game is staying aggressive and having a reliever’s mindset,” Matzek said. “If I try to be soft, stuff gets hit a little bit more.”

On the day the Rockies were rained out before finishing the third game of a homestand against San Francisco on May 23, they were 26-21 — three games behind the Giants in the National League West. Since then, over 17 games, the Rockies have gone 3-14. That includes a 13-10 slugfest loss Tuesday to Atlanta.

Colorado is now 12 1/2 games behind the Giants — and just 1 1/2 games ahead of last place Arizona.

But Troy Tulowitzki, the Rockies’ all-star shortstop, said he is sticking by his team. And recently, he seems to being going out of his way to stand up in this slump and defend his team.

Rockies right-hander Eddie Butler went on the disabled list Monday with shoulder inflammation after making his big-league debut last Friday against the Dodgers. (Justin Edmonds, Getty Images)

The contrast in the Rockies’ clubhouse was stark late Monday night.

First came word from a major-league source that 23-year-old left-hander Tyler Matzek, the club’s 2009 first-round draft choice, will start Wednesday night’s game against the Braves. It will be Matzek’s long-awaited major-league debut.

Then into the clubhouse walked veteran right fielder Michael Cuddyer, the defending National League batting champion. His left arm was cradled in a sling as he talked about an injury that will bench him for at least six weeks, and probably a lot longer.

Just moments before that, right-hander Christian Bergman had been talking about his own big-league debut — an impressive six-inning, two-run, five-hit effort that was overshadowed by another Rockies defeat. Their offense a no-show again, the Rockies lost 3-1 to the Braves, the Rockies’ 10th defeat in their last 11 games.

In losing a seventh consecutive game — their longest losing streak since a nine-game plunge in 2012 — Rockies manager Walt Weiss on Thursday was a little more testy and a little less sympathetic in his post-game comments.

A Rockies season that started with such promise is now on the edge of disintegrating.

Not simply because the Rockies blew an 8-5 lead Wednesday night and lost 16-8 to the Diamondbacks — cellar-dwellers of the NL West. And not simply because they have now lost six consecutive games, their longest losing streak since September 2012.

But because:

Starting pitcher Jordan Lyles broke his left hand in the first inning. He battled through four innings, but eventually had to leave the game. He will go on the disabled list, but how long he’ll be out is still to be determined. He is scheduled to see a hand specialist on Thursday.

Franklin Morales, the Rockies’ stop-gap starter at the back of their rotation, for the second time this season out-dueled Giants ace Madison Bumgarner. His six innings of work yielded three runs and six strike outs against just one walk. Morales’ was an identical line with Bumgarner’s, except his five hits allowed were three fewer.

That was Jorge De La Rosa’s best quote after he no-hit the Padres for six innings and shut them out for seven in the Rockies’ 3-1 victory Friday night at Coors Field.

The lefty was talking about his lower back that stiffened up on him again when he sprinted to first base in the fifth inning on a ball he hit to San Diego second baseman Jedd Gyorko. Gyrko booted the ball for an error and De La Rosa’s hustle allowed Jordan Pacheco to race home from third for the first run of the game.

De La Rosa also was talking about the swollen middle finger of his left hand, an injury that flared up as the game went along Read more…

After Lorenzo Cain hammered a two-run home run in the fourth inning Tuesday to put the Royals ahead of the Rockies 4-1, something felt different.

The Rockies remain the best offense in baseball. They almost routinely score eight or more runs in a game. Their run differential entering Tuesday (plus-55) was the second-best in baseball behind only Oakland. So a three-run deficit is not like a mountain to climb for Colorado.

But this felt different. It felt like the game was over at the halfway point. And it was.

Right-hander Jordan Lyles improved to 5-0, joining the Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka as the only major-league starters with a 5-0 mark this season.

The Rockies, who had lost two straight for just the third time this coming in, improved to 17-8 in their last 25 games, the most wins in the majors since tax day (April 15).

Charlie Blackmon’s leadoff homer was his second of the season and third of his career. He fell a triple shy of he cycle for the third time in his career.

With four hits, two home runs, Corey Dickerson had 12 total bases, the 22nd time in club history has had 12 total bases in a game.

Nolan Arenado went 2-for-5, extending his consecutive on-base streak to 30 games. It is tied for the second-longest in the majors behind Toronto’s Joe Bautista, who has reached safely in 37 straight games.

Troy Tulowitzki, the NL player of the month in April, is hitting .515 in nine games in May.

Jamie Sabau, Getty Images)” width=”495″ height=”330″ class=”size-full wp-image-17525″ /> Jordan Lyles of the Colorado Rockies pitches in the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on May 10, 2014 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Jamie Sabau, Getty Images)

ARLINGTON, Texas — Behind all the Rockies’ hits, runs and hot streaks grabbing the headlines Wednesday night at Globe Life Park, there were two other stories taking place.

One was reliever Chris Martin. The other was Jorge De La Rosa.

Martin, pitching in his hometown, in front of his family and friends, after a comeback from a shoulder surgery that had him pitching for the independent Grand Prairie AirHogs in 2011. In fact, he pitched Wednesday night about 10 minutes from the appliance factory warehouse where he was working before he got back into baseball.

The above video captures some of Martin’s emotions before he left the clubhouse to meet his friends and family.

Colorado Rockies pitcher Franklin Morales throws against the Chicago White Sox in the seventh inning on April 8, 2014 at Coors Field in Denver. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

Franklin Morales surrendered a career-high nine hits over five innings Saturday against the Mets. And there were times when, as New York ticked off six runs in the first three innings, it appeared it would be a short day for the Rockies pitcher.

I use the word “might,” because manager Walt Weiss clearly saw Martin’s performance as an enormous part of the Rockies’ 5-4 victory over the Diamondbacks Tuesday night.

When Chatwood left the game in the sixth inning because of his injury, Martin inherited a no-out, bases-loaded mess. Martin did a spotless job cleaning it up. He got Chris Owings to ground out to third baseman Nolan Arenado, who threw to the plate for the force out. Then Martin struck out pinch-hitter Roger Kieschnick and induced Tony Campana to hit a chopper to first.

Rockies catcher Wilin Rosario has been forced to miss games because of a sore left hand that hinders his swing. (Denver Post file)

PHOENIX — Wilin Rosario’s aching left hand was packed in ice late Monday night after the Rockies’ 8-5 victory over the Diamondbacks, but at least there was a smile on his face.

An MRI showed no broken bones or structural damage to his hand or wrist. He remains day-to-day and there are no plans, for now at least, to put him on the disabled list.

“I didn’t feel like I broke anything,” Rosario said. “I just feel some (discomfort) in my hand. They did the MRI to make sure nothing was wrong. There is still inflammation, so maybe it’s one more day. I don’t know. I will try tomorrow, maybe, to hit.”

Head trainer Keith Dugger confirmed that there is “quite a bit of inflammation” in Rosario’s hand and wrist, but he said the MRI showed no major problems.

Chad Bettis works against the Giants on Wednesday at Coors Field. (Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)

A Rockies bullpen that was stellar in two victories over the Giants this week got blown around the yard Wednesday at gusty Coors Field.

In a series finale against San Francisco, five Rockies relievers combined to allow seven earned runs and seven hits in five innings. The Giants’ capper — en route to a 12-10 victory in 11 innings — was Hector Sanchez’s grand slam in the 11th off Colorado’s Chad Bettis, Sanchez’s second homer of the game.

“It’s tough for any pitcher to keep throwing fastballs when they’re expecting it. From my standpoint, it was three fastballs too many,” said Bettis, who allowed one hit and two walks (one intentional) to load the bases before pitching a full count to Sanchez.

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.